The day I was fortunate enough to try the Faction Dictator 3.0 I skied it both early and late, so it experienced first lift dust-on-crust and late day corn mush. It didn’t just cope with these diverse conditions; it dominated them.
The morning runs couldn’t have been much more ratty, with traces of blown-in snow filling the hollows of week-old tracks. The Dictator 3.0 let me use my bases to feather my line or switch to crisp edges as the moment warranted. They felt inherently light and agile yet whenever the edge hold was challenged, it passed with flying colors. A run that looked as inviting as the seventh ring of Hell turned into a jolly romp. What appeared perilous the Dictator 3.0 turned into a playground.
The Dictator 3.0 is so crazy good as an off-trail implement that it seems unfair to expect the same level of performance on groomers, but its grip never loses its tenacity, in even full-bellied GS carves. Switching to short-swing, poppy turns is a snap, which is no mean feat in this genre. It’s so responsive, its 105mm waist width doesn’t feel like a liability; in fact, it feels as if 15 of those mm’s weren’t there at all.
It takes a few runs to realize the Dictator 3.0 has no weaknesses. While both tip and tail rocker are fairly long, stability on edge feels unaffected. The rocker zones and cambered mid-body work in unison to maintain edge contact. Of course there’s some taper to the tip, but it doesn’t seem to mar the sensation of continuous edge grip, perhaps because the square-shaped tail holds onto an arc to the end.
At the conclusion of my test day, I retraced my early AM descent, now a mix of super-soft sunny spots and shadows riven with crinkly, ice-crusted tracks. The Dictator 3.0 took to this hodge-podge like a pig to slop. Once again, what could have been god-awful became an amusement park, darting, floating, smushing, banking in drifts and zipping through trees.
Someone might be looking for more in a Big Mountain ski, but I can’t imagine what it would be. For all its top-notch attributes with an easy-to-manage attitude, we award the Faction Dictator 3.0 a Silver Skier Selection.